Use of computational models to reconstruct and predict trichloroethylene exposure

In this study, a type frequently encountered by ATSDR, groundwater and surface-water contamination have occurred near the Gratuity Road site in the town of Groton, Massachusetts. A petitioned public health assessment for the Gratuity Road site identified the primary contaminants as trichloro-ethylene (TCE), 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), hexavalent chromium (Cr+6), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) (ATSDR 1992). The health assessment also indicated that off-site residential groundwater wells had been contaminated with TCE and TCA. Because direct measures of historical exposure to TCE are unavailable for the Gratuity Road site, computational models were used to reconstruct and predict exposure to TCE. These computational models included environmental transport and exposure models. For the environmental transport models, numerical methods were used to approximate the equations of groundwater flow and contaminant transport. Results of using environmental transport models provided us with the spatial and temporal database necessary to conduct an exposure analysis. This database indicated that groundwater concentrations of TCE typically exceeded EPA's MCL of 5 ppb for TCE. The study demonstrated that although a hazardous waste site can be remediated, nearby populations may experience significant exposure because of historical contamination, which will not be captured by remediation activities. The exposure analysis used simulated concentrations of TCE predicted by environmental transport models. These concentrations were used to compare exposure to TCE from inhalation in a one-compartment model shower with exposure from ingestion of domestic water contaminated by TCE. The exposure model indicated that exposure to TCE by the inhalation route during showering is nearly identical to exposure by ingestion of domestic water supplies contaminated with TCE. As a result, entry by inhalation route is as important as entry by ingestion route when conducting exposure analyses of contamination from volatile organic compounds such as TCE.